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<title>Lay Your Head on Me. by Damien, Harlow (Damien)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23652715">Lay Your Head on Me.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Damien/pseuds/Damien'>Damien</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Damien/pseuds/Harlow'>Harlow (Damien)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>/r/nosleep fanfics [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>How to Survive Camping - Fainting--Goat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, Gen, The Man With The Skull Cup being a sweetie, The Man With The Skull Cup being protective, could be canon-compliant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:34:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,098</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23652715</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Damien/pseuds/Damien, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Damien/pseuds/Harlow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He carried her home, the least he could do after her victory.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>/r/nosleep fanfics [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699717</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lay Your Head on Me.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I had to write this after the hint of familiar metal rings on the hands of the person who carried Kate home. He's a sweet guy deep down.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He stood, silently, amongst the trees. He had faith in her ability, and he had to lean on that. Her failure would be bad in the short term, but everything would work out eventually, if she failed.</p><p>He tapped his fingers against his cup, his rings making a little noise, but otherwise he was as quiet as the rest of the forrest. His mouth was set in a straight line, and although he’d never admit it, he was a little worried. She had a fire in her that he could respect, and he’d rather deal with someone who understood at least an iota of what’s really in these lands.</p><p>He moved cautiously as the creature, The Thing in the Dark as she called it, awoke. Its voice sent reverberations through everything, and he didn’t particularly want its attention. He stopped in the tree line outside of the creature’s clearing, waiting. “She is fully capable,” he told himself. “She will manage this.”</p><p>He shifted his weight, leaning against a tree. She had to push, to try, to escape. There was no other choice. She would probably not be whole at the end, he knew, but she would heal. Humans are resilient, after all.</p><p>It spoke again, then its mouth opened wide. It was talking to her, he realized, and she was fighting. Its mouth started to close, and he felt a spike of worry settle in his back. A scream, not hers nor that of the being, rang out and echoed in the silence. Clinging to a tree, she barely yanked herself out. She looked faint, and when she lost her footing, he took a second to figure out where she’d land, then broke into a run.</p><p>She stopped, wheezing at the effort she’d put in, and the damage to her shadow probably not helping. She looked around, staring at the mound of the creature that released her, then she went slack. The soft grass at least stopped her from bashing her head on a rock, but he still ran forward, checking her for any wounds other than those to her shadow.</p><p>She still had some bruising, and would likely have more but she was more or less fine. He let out a long breath, the worry melting away, and squatted by her side. She was out, and even saying her name didn’t awaken her.</p><p>He stroked her hair from her face, throwing away the bits of twigs and grass he picked from her hair. Moving carefully, he cradled her, tucking her head against his shoulder. Then slowly, he slid his arm under her knees and lifted her. She clung loosely to him, more muscle memory than anything.</p><p>“I’m proud of you, Kate,” he whispered, taking each step as though through a minefield, focused on not bumping her on anything. “There is a reason I chose you,” he continued, his voice quiet enough to be soothing. “I knew you could handle it, and you did better than I would have ever hoped.”</p><p>He held her head to his shoulder as he ducked, avoiding branches of the trees on the edge of the senior campers' lot. She groaned, and he let go of her head. She sagged, but her eyes opened to slits. She looked at the hand around her arm, then down to the hand under her knees. The corner of her mouth twitched a smile before she was out again. He chuckled a little, shifting her head up more again.</p><p>Walking her home was surprisingly peaceful. Her body exuded warmth, and it was a novelty for him. Even with the jostling of him walking, she stayed unconscious. Far off in the distance he heard the dogs running, but they weren’t heading down toward the house, so he ignored it. Instead, he tracked her breathing, syncing his to hers.</p><p>A good distance off, he noticed another car parked out front, and he sifted through his memory for whose it would be. Someone was just coming around the side, and he raised his voice to be heard as he approached. “Ah, former Sheriff, if you wouldn’t mind, could you get the door for us?”</p><p>The old sheriff ran forward, intending to take Kate, then realized the issue. “Oh, right, vampires can’t enter without being invited, got ya.” He grabbed the doorknob, throwing the door wide. “Come on, her bed’s—“</p><p>Ignoring the sheriff, he walked past the other man, waving the hand holding Kate’s shoulder. “Yes, yes, I know.” The sheriff opened his mouth for a snarky response, then thought better of it. “I’ve not been a guest in here, nor may I enter without consent, so I’d prefer you relax.” He nodded to the blankets, and the sheriff slid them out of the way. The Man held out his cup, eyebrow raised, and watched the Sheriff set it down carefully then do a double take.</p><p>The Man laid Kate with her head on her pillow, then rotated her onto her side, her muddy shoes off the edge. It only took a second for him to untie them and toss them to the floor, and the sheriff seemed uncomfortable. He opened his mouth as The Man unzipped her hoodie, but he chose to remain quiet. The Man held her so tenderly as he removed the dusty hoodie and rearranged her to look more comfortable, the sheriff didn’t want to break the mood. The Man covered Kate up to her neck with the blanket, then stroked her cheek. “Sleep, you deserve it.” he whispered, like they were alone.</p><p>There was a slight smile that faded back to a neutral expression as he turned, seeing the other person in the room. “She’ll get better, of course, but keep an eye on her. She’s gonna be in a lot of pain when she comes to.”</p><p>The old sheriff nodded, rolling his eyes. “Of course, I wasn’t just gonna let her sleep it off and hope for the best.” He looked at Kate, turned to the dresser  next to him, then gingerly lifted the cup to present it. “I’ll walk you out.”</p><p>The Man took his cup back, giving a polite smile. “Of course, and you should probably inform the boy with the dogs that she’s home, I believe he’s quite worried.” He walked past the sheriff, offering a small nod, then opened and closed the door quietly behind himself. He listened  for the sounds of the dogs, then crossed the road, waiting on the other side and watching them run to the house. He raised a hand in greeting to Bryan, then walked away.</p>
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